SYDNEY, June 29, 2026, 03:20 AEST
- Santos finished Friday at A$7.14, gaining 1.42% for the session but losing 2.59% for the week.
- Pikka Phase 1 is putting out around 20,000 barrels a day gross. The project’s aiming for an 80,000 bpd plateau by the third quarter.
- Brent dropped 4.34% to close at $71.99 Friday, after oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz, easing worries about supply.
Santos Limited ASX:STO is starting the week with Alaska’s Pikka project up and running, giving the company a more direct oil position than last month. Brent crude just saw a sharp weekly drop. Santos shares last changed hands at A$7.14, up 1.42% Friday. The ASX 200 wrapped up at 8,764.20, up 0.18% Friday but down 0.7% for the week.
ASX cash market stayed shut in overnight close as of writing. The pre-open will begin at 07:00 Sydney time, with regular trading from 09:59:45 to 16:00. June 29 isn’t labeled a market holiday on the ASX.
Santos holders are looking at how big Pikka is compared to total group output. Santos owns 51% of Pikka and operates it with Repsol BME:REP. Right now, production is running at 20,000 bpd gross. That’s only about a quarter of the 80,000 bpd target for the project.
| Comparison metric | Most recent figure | What investors might take away |
|---|---|---|
| Santos stock price | Shares at A$7.14 | Friday’s rally wasn’t enough to break the seven-day losing streak |
| Current gross output at Pikka | about 20,000 barrels per day | Santos sees about 10,200 bpd net at its 51% stake |
| Pikka plateau goal | Roughly 80,000 barrels per day in the third quarter | Santos gets about 40,800 bpd net with its 51% stake |
| Santos has set its 2026 production guidance | 101 to 111 mmboe | Pikka’s yearly net plateau comes in at roughly 13%–15% of that range |
Pikka is starting to act as a lever on oil prices, not just a project marker. Annualised, 40,800 bpd nets out to roughly 14.9 million barrels a year. For every $10 move in realised oil prices, that would translate to about US$149 million in annualised sales before costs, royalties, transport, taxes, or any timing adjustments. Santos kept its 2026 production guidance unchanged at 101–111 mmboe in April.
Oil is still not helping the rally. Brent crude dropped $3.27, or 4.34%, to close at $71.99 on Friday, Reuters said. U.S. West Texas Intermediate slid $2.69, or 3.74%, to $69.23. Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, said there’s “a growing sense” that oil is going to keep flowing through Hormuz. PVM’s Tamas Varga said traders still see “imminent oversupply.” Reuters
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said in a statement that “the first production wells are now online” at Pikka, according to industry media. Santos plans to bring more wells online to hit the 80,000 bpd mark. The development has roughly 400 million barrels of gross 2P reserves and another 600 million barrels in gross 2C resources. World Oil
The main question for the share price is if investors put a premium on lower execution risk or discount for the oil price pressures. In April, Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, told Reuters the market was brushing off Santos’ Q1 revenue miss and watching for Barossa and Pikka to come online after earlier delays.
More forecast cuts are hitting the trade. Barclays (LON:BARC) lowered its Brent price target on Friday to $96 a barrel in 2026 and $85 in 2027. UBS Group (SWX:UBSG) now sees Brent at $85 by end-September and end-December. For Santos, the market is seeing the first full read on Pikka’s ramp with weaker oil forecasts and a share price that’s still down from a week ago.
